Akshay Bhatia has a charge that would make Arnie proud. He rallies from 5 down to win Bay Hill

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Akshay Bhatia missed a 30-inch par putt to fall five shots behind Sunday in the Arnold Palmer Invitational, angry enough to want to do something about it. What followed was a charge on the back nine at Bay Hill that would have made the King proud.

“You must play boldly to win,” was one of Palmer's famous quotes.

Bhatia was every bit of that. Four straight birdies got him into the mix. Two shots behind with three to play, he hit 6-iron to a dangerous pin on the par-5 16th that nearly went into the cup on the second bounce and set up a short eagle to stay in the game.

And then he outlasted Daniel Berger in the first playoff at Bay Hill since 1999 — three years before Bhatia was born — to win the Arnold Palmer Invitational in a stunning comeback.

“If he was up there watching, he's probably pretty proud of how that finished,” said Bhatia, wearing the red cardigan that goes to the winner of Palmer's tournament.

“Play bold — I think that was a big thing everyone knows of Mr. Palmer,” he said. “I could feel that energy and buzz. It was awesome. I'm very fortunate to win this tournament.”

Bhatia, who also took on the flag over the rock-framed water on the 18th in regulation and nearly pulled it off, closed with a 3-under 69 and won his third PGA Tour title, all of them in playoffs.

This was the biggest, a $20 million signature event that moves the 24-year-old into the top 20 in the world at the start of a big stretch in golf that concludes with the Masters next month.

Berger looked like he had this won, walking confidently after shots in building a four-shot lead at the turn. He lost the lead by missing a 7-foot par putt on the 17th hole and showed plenty of moxie just to get into the playoff with an up-and-down from 70 yards for par on the final hole for a 70.

They finished at 15-under 273.

Berger, who hit his tee shot into the right rough on the 18th in regulation, pulled his drive in the playoff and did well to hammer a 6-iron to the front edge of the green, 106 feet away. He rolled that to 7 feet below the hole, and his par putt to extend the playoff was weak and missed below the cup.

Bhatia played to the center of the green. He took two putts from just inside 30 feet for the win and the $4 million prize.

“Everyone knows when you show up to Bay Hill it's going to be a test,” Bhatia said.

He also felt like he had some of “Arnie's Army” on his side down the stretch, and there were moments the crowd was clearly in his favor, and opposed to Berger.

“No pressure,” one spectator yelled as Berger walked in for a putt just inside 15 feet for par in regulation that he holed to force the playoff. “Get in the water,” another spectator said on his putt.

Bhatia started the back nine with four straight birdies, one of them from just inside 60 feet on the 11th hole. There was a two-shot swing at the 13th when Bhatia holed a 10-foot birdie putt and Berger had a plugged lie in a bunker, facing a shot to the crispy green with water on the other side. He smartly played back toward the fairway and salvaged a bogey, his lead down to one shot.

The final hour turned electric on the par-5 16th with Bhatia's biggest shot. He said caddie Joe Greiner told him, “Just try to hit the best 6-iron of your life.”

“It was one of those professional pushes,” he said. “I wasn't trying to aim at the flag.”

Berger, who missed 18 months with a back injury after the 2022 U.S. Open and suffered a broken finger last August, was trying to become the first wire-to-wire winner at Bay Hill in 10 years.

“It's tough to win. It's tough to battle,” he said. “But I feel like I did a good job, and a shot here or there was the difference.”

That goes for Bhatia, too. He and Berger returned Sunday morning to finish the third round. Berger had a three-shot lead until the 18th hole, when he made bogey from the right rough and Bhatia made birdie when his 10-foot putt hung on the lip for just under 10 seconds and then dropped.

Berger's consolation prize, aside from the $2.2 million for finishing second, was earning a spot in the British Open and moving well into the top 40 in the world, which should make him safe to return to the Masters next month.

Cameron Young, who used to spend his winters in Orlando as a kid, played bogey-free for a 69 and tied for third with Ludvig Aberg (67).

Scottie Scheffler took another double bogey on the 18th hole — his second in as many rounds and his third double bogey in his last 19 holes at Bay Hill — for a 73. He tied for 24th. It was the first time since the U.S. Open last year that he failed to break 70 at a tournament.

AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf

Akshay Bhatia smiles as he holds the championship trophy after winning the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill golf tournament Sunday, March 8, 2026, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Akshay Bhatia holds the championship trophy after winning the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill golf tournament Sunday, March 8, 2026, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Daniel Berger reacts after making a putt on the 18th hole during the final round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill golf tournament Sunday, March 8, 2026, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Akshay Bhatia watches his shot on the 13th hole during the final round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill golf tournament Sunday, March 8, 2026, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Akshay Bhatia reacts after winning his playoff against Daniel Berger at the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill golf tournament Sunday, March 8, 2026, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Daniel Berger reacts after his hit on the 18th hole during his playoffs against Akshay Bhatia at the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill golf tournament Sunday, March 8, 2026, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Akshay Bhatia, right, reacts after winning his playoff against Daniel Berger at the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill golf tournament Sunday, March 8, 2026, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Daniel Berger, right, greets Akshay Bhatia on the 16th hole during the third round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill golf tournament Saturday, March 7, 2026, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union leaders on Thursday lashed out at Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, accusing him of hijacking critical aid for Ukraine and undermining EU decision-making in an effort to win an election at home.

In a rare public tirade against a member of their ranks, leaders insisted that Orbán must respect the 27-nation bloc’s decision in December to fund Ukraine’s armed forces and war-ravaged economy for the next two years. Orbán himself had previously approved what is seen as a critical lifeline for war-ravaged Ukraine.

“He’s using Ukraine as a weapon in his election campaigning, and it’s not good. We had a deal, and I think that he betrayed us,” Finland Prime Minister Petteri Orpo told reporters as the leaders gathered for a summit in Brussels.

Ukraine's economy is in tatters. EU officials believe it must get at least a sizeable part of the 90-billion-euro ($103-billion) loan by the start of May. For that to happen, work must move forward on the EU agreement within two to three weeks.

Orbán – who is seen as Russian President Vladimir Putin’s closest ally in Europe and is a strident nationalist admired by U.S. President Donald Trump – is trailing in opinion polls ahead of elections on April 12. Part of his election campaign has been to portray Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as an existential threat to Hungary.

He has alleged that the Ukrainian leader, along with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, wants to drag Hungary into Russia’s war, now in its fifth year. He has claimed that his reelection is the only guarantee of peace and security.

Fellow EU leaders are now taking Orbán to task, pulling the rug from under his claims that EU institutions in Brussels are against him.

“I have the impression that this is part of his electoral campaign, but in any case we have to respect the decisions that were taken here,” Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever told reporters. "It’s unacceptable to decide with the leaders and then after say ‘but I’m not ready to execute what I decided.’”

Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker said that “what we decide — and what he has agreed to —must be implemented.” He said that if Orban is using the election as a pretext, then “this is not a valid argument given the situation in Ukraine, the plight of the people in Ukraine, and what we ourselves have decided.”

The standoff has highlighted important weaknesses in EU decision-making procedures, which often require unanimous agreement among the 27 member countries. Hungary has a population of almost 10 million, a fraction of the bloc’s 450 million people.

Ukraine and Hungary have been locked in an escalating feud since deliveries of Russian oil to Hungary and Slovakia were halted in January due to damage to the Druzhba pipeline, which crosses Ukrainian territory.

Ukrainian officials blame the damage on Russian drone attacks, but Orbán accuses Zelenskyy of deliberately holding up oil supplies. Hungary has not only vetoed the loan package, it’s also blocking a new round of EU sanctions against Russia.

In an effort to break the deadlock, von der Leyen and European Council President António Costa offered this week to pay for repairs to the pipeline. An EU technical team is in Kyiv awaiting security clearance to inspect the site.

But Orbán vowed to continue to block the loan as long as oil shipments to Hungary are halted.

“What we are talking about is not politics, it is existential for Hungary. To get the oil is existential for the Hungarians,” said Orbán, who has been Hungary’s prime minister since 2010 and is seeking his fifth term. “It’s not a joke, it’s not a political game. Zelenskyy should understand it."

Pietro De Cristofaro in Berlin contributed to this report.

Belgium's Prime Minister Bart De Wever arrives for the EU summit at the European Council building in Brussels, Thursday, March 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)

Austria's Chancellor Christian Stocker speaks with the media as he arrives for the EU summit at the European Council building in Brussels, Thursday, March 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Omar Havana)

Finland's Prime Minister Petteri Orpo speaks with the media as he arrives for the EU summit at the European Council building in Brussels, Thursday, March 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Omar Havana)

Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban speaks with the media as he arrives for the EU summit at the European Council building in Brussels, Thursday, March 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Omar Havana)

Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban arrives for the EU summit at the European Council building in Brussels, Thursday, March 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)